Latch



April 11, 1939.

wp. FERRls LATCH l Filed July l0, 1936 Patented Apr. 11, 1939 PATENT OFFICE LATCH William D. Ferris, Sterling, Ill., assignor to Frantz Manufacturing Co., Sterling, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application July 10, 1936, Serial No. 89,955

3 Claims.

This invention relates to door latches, and more particularly to those employed on refrigerator doors, or on similar doors.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and arrangement whereby a pivoted latch handle on the outer side of the door is' operative to actuate a sliding bolt on the inner side of the door, when it is desired to open the latter.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general eiciency and desirability of a door latch of this particular character.

1.-', To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a latch embodying the principles of the invention, showing the same in position on the outer side of the door.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 of the drawing.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the latch parts in position to permit opening of the door.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a casing or housing I, suitably secured to the inner side of the door 2 of a refrigerator. A sheet metal bolt 3 is supported in position for endwise motion by said housing I, and is actuated by the bell crank lever 4, pivoted at 5 within said housing. The spring 6 serves to yieldingly hold said bell crank lever in the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

There is another sheet metal housing 'I on the outer side of the door, and the endwise movable rod 8 is supported horizontally in bearings in the two housings, as shown in the drawing, with the inner end of the rod in engagement with the bell crank lever 4, previously mentioned, the normal position of the parts being as shown in Figs. 1, 2

and 3 of the drawing.

The latch handle 9 is pivoted at I0 within the housing 'I, and its inner end portion II bears against the outer end of the rod 8, whereby an outward movement of said handle, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing, will push the rod 8 inwardly, thereby tilting the bell crank lever 4, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, and causing the sheet metal hollow bolt 3 to slide into its unlatching position. A spring I2 is suitably applied to the handle 9, at its pivotal point I0, and tends to yieldingly maintain the handle in its normal position.

The refrigerator doorway is provided with a strike-piece I3, adapted to engage the beveled en- 5 gaging end of the bolt 3, when the door is closed, so that the latter will be automatically latched, and the parts will then be in the positions shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing. When it is desired to unlatch the door and open the latter, 10 all that is necessary is to exert an outward pull on the handle 9, which will move the bolt 3 to the left, into unlatching position, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, and such pull will also swing the door outwardly into open position. 15 Thus, in a simple and comparatively inexpensive latch construction, there is combined the advantages of a pivoted handle for unlatching and opening the door, and a sliding bolt for latching and unlatching the door, which bolt slides end- 20 wise in its support on the inner side of the door.

It will be seen that the rod 8 extendsl through a slot I4 in the hollow sheet metal latching bolt 3, whereby the latter has limited endwise reciprocation, for latching and unlatching the door. The bell crank member 4 can be made of sheet metal, as shown, and forme-d to engage a cross pin I5 or any other suitable portion of the locking bolt 3, in the manner shown in the drawing. In this 30 way, the bolt engaging arm of this bell crank extends into the open side of the hollow bolt 3, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, while the other arm engages the inner end of the rod 8, in the manner shown and described. Also, 35 with this construction, the spring 6 is partially enclosed within the sheet metal bell crank 4, and the normal or latching position of the handle 9 is maintained by the engagement of its upper end l I with the wall of the housing 1, as 40 shown in Fig.` 2 of the drawing. ThusI the springs '5 and I2 and the stop portion II of the handle co-operate to maintain the different movable parts in normal position, with the latch bolt 3 in latching position.

It will be seen that one arm of the bell crank 4 loosely engages the hollow bolt 3 at I5, and that a fiat portion of this sheet metal crank normally engages the wall oi the housing I, adjacent the engaging end of the bolt (see Fig. 3), thus forming a stop limiting the latching movement of the bolt, and that the housing I is enlarged at its base (see Fig. 2), to form a snug guide for the bolt. The spring 6, obviously, must co-operate 55 with the spring I 2 to keep the bolt 3 and the handle 9 in normal latching position.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a door latch, a housing on the inner side of the door, a metal latch bolt slidable horizontally in said housing, a spring held bell crank pivoted in said housing and having one arm thereof normally engaging the wall of the housing adjacent the engaging end of said bolt, forming a stop to limit the latching movement of the latter, means on the bolt having loose engagement with said arm, a push rod extending through the door and having engagement with the other arm of said bell crank, and a pivoted handle on the cutside of the door to engage the outer end of said rod, for operating said bell crank to unlatch the door.

2. A structure as specied in claim 1, said bolt being hollow to receive therein a portion of said one arm, with the spring bearing at one end against said one arm, and at its other end against the wall of said housing.

3. A structure as specied in claim 1, said housing being enlarged at its base to form a guide for said bolt, the latter being hollow and having a longitudinal slot in the vertical Wall thereof for said rod, the bolt being open at its side opposite said Wall.

WIILLIAM D. FERRIS. 

